At Least 92 Killed in Israeli Strikes on Gaza; Palestinians Face Extreme Hardship Amid Food Crisis

At least 92 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip from early Thursday morning, amid a worsening food crisis. Desperate residents in search of food are losing their lives in the process. Among the dead, 64 were killed in Gaza City and the northern region, while 16 more died near the Netzarim corridor, which divides Gaza into northern and southern sections.

Eyewitnesses described chaos and panic at aid distribution centers following Israeli strikes. Bassem Abu Shaer, who witnessed the attack, told AFP that tanks, aircraft, and quadcopters began firing around 1 a.m. on Wednesday night, targeting the crowd gathered overnight in hopes of receiving food. "We couldn’t help them, nor could we escape," he said, noting that the sheer size of the crowd at Shuhada Junction made fleeing impossible.

The United Nations condemned the "weaponization of aid," particularly through the U.S.- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). In recent weeks, attacks on Palestinians waiting for food aid have increased alarmingly, resulting in numerous deaths.

Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting from Deir al-Balah, described these strikes on aid centers as a “daily routine.” He noted that over three months of Israeli blockade has turned Gaza into the epicenter of a humanitarian disaster, forcing people to gather at designated spots for basic necessities such as flour, water, and low-nutrition food items. "These attacks are ongoing, turning all humanitarian corridors into killing zones," Azzoum said.

In a separate incident, 13 Palestinians were killed by an Israeli drone strike on a makeshift tent in Al-Shati refugee camp, where residents had gathered to charge electrical devices. Israeli warplanes also launched intense bombings on several homes in Jabalia, northern Gaza. Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary, also reporting from Deir al-Balah, mentioned that the strike on the charging point came after over 18 months without electricity in the region.

Khoudary emphasized that attacks on aid distribution centers reveal the dire situation in Gaza, where Palestinians are “forced to risk their lives for food.” She highlighted the extremely limited number of aid trucks entering Gaza each day, creating desperation so severe that people are even being killed while attempting to retrieve supplies from them.

Medical sources confirmed that in the last 24 hours alone, 69 dead bodies—including two recovered after one specific strike—and 221 injured individuals were brought to hospitals in the besieged area. Since the war began in October 2023, Gaza’s health ministry reports at least 55,706 people killed and 130,101 injured.

Photo: "Women embrace each other in grief at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City during the funeral of Palestinian aid seekers killed by Israeli gunfire."